Crude mixed in Asia over US debt impasse worries
Posted on July 29, 2011
Crude prices were mixed in Asian trade Thursday, with investors fretting over the state of the US economy as lawmakers scrambled for a compromise to avert a devastating default, analysts said.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, fell 28 cents to $97.12 per barrel in the afternoon.
Brent North Sea crude for September delivery gained 39 cents to $117.82.
A drawn-out political impasse in the United States, as polarised politicians struggle to find a middle ground over a debt solution for the world’s largest oil consumer, was exacting its toll on traders.
“Prices remain largely range-bound as a result of the economic uncertainty, particularly with regard to the US budget impasse,” said Sanjeev Gupta, who heads the Asia-Pacific oil and gas practice at Ernst & Young.
Congress was due later Thursday to consider Republican Speaker John Boehner’s plan to raise Washington’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, although it looked doomed to fail due to a White House veto threat.
US lawmakers were privately hunting for a compromise to avert a debt default due to kick in on August 2.
